It All Led To This
by Fullmetal-Soul
Summary: Danny, after a year of running, crash lands in Jump City. There he meets the Titans. Unwittingly, something is watching him, waiting for the right time to strike. Can Danny and the Teen Titans survive the oncoming storm, or will they get swept away? First fanfic ever, and have made a few changes.
1. Crash Landing

**Hey there, fellow fanfictionados! I decided that for my first fanfic ever, I'd do a crossover. Difficult, I know, but I embrace the challenge. If you aren't in it for the long haul, get out now, because I promise this'll be a huge one. Go big or go home, right? ****_Right! _****The first chapter may be short, but it'll be awesome. Now, that's enough of my rambling. Onward!**

Phantom Rising

By Fullmetal-Soul

Chapter one: Crash Landing

Danny was tired. Tired of the running, tired of the pain. He wanted to give up so much. There was nothing left for him anymore. They were all gone. Jazz, Tucker, his parents, and worst of all- no, he wouldn't think about it. The halfa pushed the dark thoughts out of his mind. Right now, he needed to focus on shaking the Guys in White off his trail.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Danny chuckled. Out of all the names for an evil agency, they picked some cheesy knockoff from a movie? It never ceased to make him smile.

"There it is!" Agent O yelled from the ground. "Don't let it escape!"

_Crap, I've been spotted. Perfect._ Danny sped up his flying to his full 200 miles per hour. He loved to feel the wind whipping through his pure white hair, watch the world blur into a hodgepodge of colors, all sound fading away. If he wasn't being chased by a society of crazy agents who wanted to vivisect him, the moment would have been perfect.

Something buried itself into Danny's side. He screamed and started plummeting toward the earth.

"Dammit, K, I wanted throw the ecto-dagger! I love to watch its face when it's in pain"

_Ecto-dagger?_ Danny thought hazily as he tumbled through the clouds._ They just keep inventing stuff to kill me. _He smashed through the trees and skidded to a stop beneath a giant oak.

Agents O and K started clomping through the forest searching for him. Danny managed to get to his feet and started heading toward the city.

The ecto-dagger was still in his side. Danny placed his hand on the hilt and steeled himself. With one sharp yank, Danny pulled the dagger out. It took all his willpower not to scream.

Glowing ectoplasm pumped out of his side. Danny channeled healing energy to his hand and placed it over the gruesome hole, Skin and muscles knit themselves together. Organs repaired their tears and began there functions once more. It would have been cool to watch if not for him being on Death's door.

Danny dragged himself to a large green trash bin on its side. It was gross, but he wasn't in the position to complain. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a giant billboard. It read

WELCOME TO JUMP CITY

POPULATION 762,584

**Wow, that was shorter than I planned. But it felt amazing to write it. Please review. I'll allow flames. You can even curse if you want to. Freedom of speech, right? Just don't use the really long one! You know what it is!**

ocument here...


	2. The Past Comes Knocking

**Hey people. There was this annoying plot bunny that wouldn't go away! So now I'm at an unholy hour (at least for me. I'm usually up at one on the weekend), typing this bloody fanfic. And to those reviewers who said the first chapter was too short, this one is**_**way**_**longer, and the plot thickens somewhat. Let me hurry up and give you people what you want; I'm tired. BTW, I own nothing except the plot, and a special ghost appears in this chappie! Hint: his daughter appeared in TUE!**

* * *

Chapter Two: The Past Comes Knocking

Danny groaned. His head hurt, his neck ached, and during the night an orange peel had gotten thrown onto his head. "I'm sleeping in a garbage can," he said dejectedly." My life has entered an all-new low." Danny wasn't your average homeless teen. He had _standers_. Danny crawled backwards out of his shelter and stretched.

The ecto-dagger K had chucked at him lay by his right boot. It glowed softly in the morning rays. Danny guessed this dagger was specially made to harm ghosts. Danny picked it up, tucking the weapon into his boot for later. _That is sick,_ he thought, even more annoyed with himself. _I'm keeping the dagger that almost killed me. Nothing could make this worse._

A faint blue mist floated out of his mouth. "Crap. Crap to the eighteenth power." Danny was not in the mood for a ghost attack. "Please, if there is any justice in the universe, let it be anyone except-"

"I am the Box Ghost! BEWARE!"

The halfa face-palmed. "Never mind."

A blue skinned spirit with denim overalls and crimson eyes smiled gleefully as he hovered in the air. "BEWARE!" he repeated again.

Danny was barely holding off on blasting the poltergeist back into the Ghost Zone. "Listen, Boxy, now isn't a good time for me." He gestured to all the dried ectoplasm covering the asphalt. "We can schedule this for another time."

The ghost ignored him and launched into his rant. "Do you know why I could never take over Amity?" he asked.

"Because you're a lousy excuse for a villain?" Danny offered.

Again, he was ignored. "There weren't enough boxes! But here in this city, many people use boxes. Big boxes, small boxes, and everything in between! I will start my reign of cardboard here, and then Metropolis, and after that- THE WORLD!"

Danny was slowly reaching his tolerance limit

"And _why_ are you telling me this?"

The Box Ghost smiled sheepishly. "You are my nemesis. Why wouldn't I tell you?"

And that was when Danny lost all semblance of control.

"You_mean to tell me,_" he seethed, rising into the air, "_that you followed me across the country so I could stop you?!_THIS is why I said you're a lousy villain! You probably could have gotten away with it, but since you told me, that's never going to happen." His gloved hands lit up with green fire.

"YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

* * *

Raven was currently drowning out Beast Boy. _Again._

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" Beast Boy asked for the umpteenth time. "At least open your eyes. Raven. _RAAAAAAAVVVEEENNN!"_

She needed to meditate. "Azeroth, Metrion, Zinthos." She chanted repeatedly. "Azeroth, Metrion, Zinthos. Azeroth, Metrion, Zinth-"

"C'mon, Raven. Why did the chicken cross the road? I know you know the answer." The changeling gave her a fanged grin.

Raven didn't even open her eyes." To make a noose and kill itself. Your lame joke drove it to suicide," she replied in a monotonous voice.

Beast boy's ears drooped. "Dude, that was harsh."

A crash came from downstairs. They both heard Starfire shriek. They got up silently and rushed to the living room.

* * *

Danny was royally pissed off. First the Box Ghost stalks him all the way from Amity to Jump. That's over one hundred miles! Then he annoys him (well, more than usual). Now some kid in a retarded costume was yelling himself blue in the face because Danny had thrown Boxy through a window. Adding to that, some girl with Cheeto skin and red hair was zipping around like a fucking hummingbird. It was distracting.

"Are you listening to me? Hey, you just broke our house! Apologize at least! HEY!"

Danny held up a hand. His weird moment of rage was over. He was actually kind of sorry. "Look, I'm sorry I broke your alphabet house." He shushed him when the guy started screaming again. "Man, just let it go, all right? It's just a window."

"WHO IS BUSTIN' UP MY HOUSE?" Danny turned around to see a guy who was probably ninety-two percent metal. If Tucker were here, he'd be spouting tech jargon and taking pics one of his gadgets like crazy.

Danny noticed the three of them blocking his escape routes_. I'm being surrounded. Time to go._ Danny grabbed the Box Ghost by an arm and hauled him to his feet. "This was fun and all... but I'm going to get out of your hair."

Some green kid stood in his way. "Dude, you can't just leave! You threw a guy into our living room-"

"And broke our house," Mask added.

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. "I'm outtta here." He floated into the air and almost crashed back down.

"S-sam?"

* * *

**Oh, I am Evil incarnate! Evil cliffies are fun to write. I finally realize why people do them so much. Review more, guys. The more reviews I get, the longer and awesomer the chapters will be! And, now, the moment we've all been waiting for... ME GOING TO SLEEP! XD**


	3. Interrogation

**Bonjour, mes amis! Twice in one day, I'm impressed with myself. Okay, let's get something clear before I start- writing awesome long chapters is hard for me, so could you all****_ please _****stop harassing me about the chapter length. It makes me feel like crap. James Patterson has short chapters, but you aren't jumping down _his_ throat. And if Picicha123 is reading this; thanks so much for helping me out with a slight issue(scratch that. _MEGA_ issue).There's even a couple of lines in here that you said… but that's enough for now. I own nothing whatsoever, besides the plot. Ready for a long chapter? Then... ONWARD!**

Chapter Three: Interrogation

Raven and Beast Boy stood in the shadows, observing the mystery teen. He was pitifully thin, but was glaring at Cyborg with toxic green eyes as if they were evenly matched. He was wearing a black hazmat suit with a white D with a P on the inside. The only thing that wasn't dirty,disheveled, and ragged about him was his silver-white hair.

"Man, he's sure pissing off Robin," Beast Boy commented, watching the steam curling out of the Boy Wonder's left ear. "Just imagine if we had a camera. This is prime blackmail material..."

Raven wasn't paying the changeling any attention. The Tower had gotten colder with the white-haired teen's appearance, and had just dropped several degrees within the past seventeen seconds. There was another person in here.

The mystery kid grabbed the rotund man's arm and pulled him to his feet." This was fun and all... but I'm gonna get out of your hair."

Beast Boy stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of him, a scowl on his face "Dude, you can't just leave! You threw a guy into our living room-"

"And broke our house," Robin added. Raven rolled her eyes. She could fix that window in three minutes with her magic. Why were they making such a big deal out of it?

"I'm outta here." He floated into he air and his face paled. His eyes widened.

"S-sam?"

**(LINE BREAK)**

Danny was speechless. There she was, the love of his life, standing there as if she hadn't gone up in flames a year ago.

But it didn't make any sense. He'd seen her, smelled her, felt her charred, melted body lying outside the husk of the Nasty Burger. He was the one to tell the police who the burned skeletons were. But here she was, _smiling at him._

_"Close your mouth, Inviso-Bill," _Sam whispered. _"You'll let in flies."_

Her voice was all wrong. It was echoey, like she was speaking through a static phone with bad audio. And when she moved, the light shone through her form.

"Sam... how-"

_"I don't know how long I can keep this up, Danny,"_ she interrupted. _"He's watching. He's always watching me. But I had to warn you."_

For the first time since Danny knew he, pure fear flashed across her transparent face.

"Warn me about what?"

_"This is all my fault," _she said quietly._ " Danny, the day of the explosion I," _she whipped her head around._ " He's coming! Just don't trust the underground, Danny. I love you so much..." _She started to disappear.

"Where are you, Sam?" He reached out for the Goth's hand desperately. It scattered like mist and curled away "Sam!"

For the second time, he watched his best friend leave him.

**(LINE BREAK)**

The Titans watched apprehensively as the teen stood shell-shocked. After a few moments, Robin's leader skills kicked in. "Cyborg, take him and the other one down to the interrogation room-"

Beast Boy waved his hand in the air.

"What is it, Beast Boy?" Robin growled, annoyed that he'd been interrupted.

He shuffled his feet."That fat dude left while Whitey over here was freakin' out."

Robin sighed. "All right. Just take him down to interrogation. He better have a good reason for breaking into Titans' Tower."

**( LINE BREAK)**

Danny didn't put up a fight as the metal man led him below the surface. Sam's words tumbled through his mind. Don't trust the underground... and here he was, voluntarily going sixty feet below the earth's crust. He snorted. _I never did listen to Sam._

Bionic man typed a long code into a keypad. The doors slid open. Danny wrinkled his nose. The air in there was stale.

"Just sit in _there._ Robin will talk with you in a second." Danny winced at his tone of voice. Mr. Lancer always sounded like that right before he gave him detention.

It took Spikey half an hour to get down there. He sat down, his stupid cape flaring around him dramatically. _He probably did that on purpose hoping to intimidate me,_ he thought. _All it did was make him look stupid._

Mask leaned forward, once again making him look dumb. " My name is Robin, and I am the leader of the Teen Titans," he said in a droning voice. Danny rolled his eyes.

Spikey either didn't notice or didn't care. "Why were you attempting to kill Starfire, princess of Tameran?"

Pfft. Attempted assassination. _Been there, done that, seen it on Oprah._

" Who is Starfire?" Danny asked innocently. With his enhanced senses, Danny could see Robin's eye twitch behind his mask.

"The girl with red hair. The girl with orange skin. The nicest girl in the universe, and you tried to assassinate her."

Danny grinned wickedly at his third comment. "Awww! Robby loves Cheeto. How cute. When's the wedding?"

The guy blushed furiously. _I was right? OK, Fenton, work this._

"So, is she wild in bed?" _Whoa, did I actually just say that? Hah, he fell out of his chair! This is actually kind of fun._

" I heard somewhere that the crazier they are, the raunchier they get. Ch- Starfire must keep you up all night. Do you guys keep the moaning down to a minimum, or do you want your team to hear? I think that's classified as an unintentional orgy- where are you going? i thought we were having fun!"

Robin was out the door faster than Sam out of a butcher's.

**(LINE BREAK)**

Robin slammed the door and rubbed his face tiredly.

"So?" Cyborg asked."Whaddya get out of him?"

The Boy Wonder shook his head. "Nothing. Something is seriously wrong with him. He talks to people who aren't there-"

"-He's been tapping his foot like crazy ever since he sat down-" Beast Boy added.

"-And I can't sense his thoughts," Raven finished.

"So we've got a schizoprenic, ADHD, mental mute in custody for trying to kill Starfire," Cyborg said dryly. " He's as normal as can be!"

Starfire tapped Robin on the shoulder."May I go talk to him?" she asked in a bell-pitched voice.

" NO!"

" Friend Raven can acompany me-"

"No."

"Dude," Beast Boy sighed," just let her go with Raven! She'll just keep asking until you let her."Robin looked around at his team.

"Fine."

**(LINE BREAK)**

Danny was expecting Hair Gel to come back in. Instead, Cheeto and her emo friend bounced in. Well, Cheeto bounced. Emo Chick glided across the floor.

Cheeto got all into his person space, making Danny feel claustropphobic."_Whatisyournamewheredoyoucome fromhowdidyougetherewhatisyo ufavoritecoloranddoyouwishto bemyfriend?!" _Cheeto got closer with every question until her green eyes stared straight into his expectantly.

" Uhh... Phantom, Montana, flew, blue, and if you back up a little and quit touching my hair, I'll consider it." Starfire immediately moved away from him and beamed. He couldn't help it. Danny smiled back.

Outside, the male Titans' jaws hit the floor.

"How..." Beast Boy stammered.

Robin shrugged. "That's Starfire for you."

**WOOOO HOOOO! 1,318 words! I kick ass! Reveiw please. BTW, vote on the two polls I created for this story. The future of the fanfic depends on it. But now I'm tired, so I'm going to bed. VOTE!**


	4. A Day With the Titans pt 1

**_I'm so sorry!_ I got a severe concussion during the softball championship(we lost to Holy Innocence X0 ), and I was bedridden for ages! Then my doctor refused to let me on my computer. Something about electromagnetic pulses…I'm not even supposed to be doing this now, but do I care? _NAW!_ I see you all thought the last chapter was hilarious. I decided to let Danny have fun for now. I'll jack up his life later. Has anyone noticed that each chapter is considerably longer than the last? I'm progressing, so expect nice long chappies from here on out. Remember to vote on the polls (seriously, guys. It's at the top of my bio. Not difficult at all). Your opinions matter. Now, less talk, more fanfic. ONWARD!**

* * *

Chapter Four: A Day With the Titans pt. 1

It turned out that Phantom wasn't trying to assassinate Starfire. That person he threw into their living room had stalked him. Starfire chatted with Danny for a few more minutes and then flounced back out with Raven following behind her.

"He wishes to be my friend!" she said, clapping her hands together with unconstrained joy. "I shall have to make friend Phantom a Tameranian feast, and sing the sing of gratitude, and friend Beast Boy will help me create his bed chambers, and he friend Cyborg shall play the games of videos-"

Robin held up a green gloved hand. "Repeat what you just said." he said slowly.

"I shall sing the song of gratitude-all six thousand verses!"

The Boy Wonder shook his head. "After that."

Starfire tilted her head to the side. She was becoming confused. Had she not just repeated what she said? "Friend Cyborg and friend Phantom shall play the games of videos?"

He pulled at his hair. "_Before_ that!"

"Friend Beast Boy shall help me create his bed chambers?"

"What makes you think that he's staying here?"

Starfire gestured to the window at Phantom. "I think he is, how you Earth people say, a homo?"

Beast Boy burst out laughing. "The word is _hobo_, Star. Don't say that to a person on the street. You'll offend someone."

She gasped. "I do not mean to hurt someone's feelings!"

Robin shook his head again. "He can't stay here. For one thing, if he is homeless, we don't know how he got that way, or if he's actually crazy."

Raven rolled her eyes. "We can always restrain him."

"Or sick Starfire on him again," Cyborg added. He didn't necessarily like Phantom, but then again, they hadn't met on the best of terms. "He seems to respond to her the best."

Robin glared at him. They all seemed to like Phantom a lot. "Doesn't anyone want to know _why_ he came to Jump City in the first place?"

The empath shrugged." Yes and no. Have you really thought about it, Robin? If he was sent here to kill us, wouldn't he have done it already?"

"She_ does _have a point, dude," Beats Boy pointed out.

"So…" Cyborg said hesitantly, "what should we do?"

The green changeling grinned. "I have an idea!"

* * *

Danny was bored out his fucking mind. White walls, steel chairs, and emptiness got old after a period of time. _If they're going to arrest me, could they PLEASE hurry up,_ he thought, banging his forehead dully on the table. At this point, he almost missed Cheeto's incessant rambling._ Today is Let's Piss of the Halfa day, isn't it?_

Robin entered the interrogation room, a scowl on his face. Ask for the devil, and he shall appear.

The boy sat down across from him at the table once more, assuming the ever-annoying interrogating pose. "You are positive you did not come here to eliminate Starfire, or any of the other Teen Titans?"

The halfa rolled his eyes. "I swear on the Infi-map that I did not try to assassinate your sex slave Cheeto, Emo Chick, Pesto, WALL-E, or you, Spikey."

Robin's jaw muscle twitched. "Say one more lucid comment about me, Starfire, or any other Titan, and I'll-"

"You'll _what? _Put me in time out? Call my mommy and tell her I've been a bad boy?" Danny wasn't aware of it, but crimson was slowly leaked into his irises. Danny leaned across the table until he was right in the Boy Wonder's face. "Listen up Robby, and listen well. I haven't eaten in a week, but I could still kick your spandex ass across the bay and back without breaking a sweat. I'll let it slid this time, but here's a warning- don't tell me what to fucking do. It may be the last thing you ever say."

At that moment, Starfire chose to walk in and hug Danny. His eyes flickered before settling on nuclear green.

"Oh, friend Phantom, friend Beast Boy has had the most wondrous idea!" she squeaked happily, launching into her explanation.

Robin was sitting in his chair, silent. He'd been threatened by multiple people (Slade, Killer Moth, Jonny Rancid- to name a few), but nothing was as terrifying as that had been. And his eyes, they weren't normal in the first place, but when they turned red-the masked hero sighed. He would just have to watch Phantom very closely.

"We shall show you around the Tower!" Starfire finished, beaming again.

Danny stared at her."No thanks," he said."I don't need your help."

The door on the other side of the room whooshed open."Dude, I could count your ribs from behind that window," the green kid said.

"Being that thin isn't healthy," Emo Chick droned."You do realize that, right?"

Danny crossed his arms."Then give me a sub and send me on my way."

The metal man shook his head."It's not that simple. See, in the eyes of the law, we could charge you for assault. But since we're the Teen Titans, we can bend the rules a bit."

"We keep you you in custody for twenty-four hours to see if you're a threat to society," Emo Chick said."If you prove to be somewhat harmless, you get off free."

Danny cocked an eyebrow."And if I refuse?"

"I get the pleasure of throwing your cocky ass into a jail-cell," Robin said.

Danny stood there, lost in thought._ On one hand, get free food. On the other, go to jail. I can't stand these guys. I'd rather hug Vlad than stay here another minute, let alone twenty-four hours. Besides, jail has food... and a bathroom... and child molesters. _He shuddered.

_Okay, jail is out. My psyche's already fucked up-I don't need to add rape to the list. __I could escape. But Cheeto's pretty damn fast. And I don't know what Emo Chick can do, but I bet she could deck me. Pesto's not the brightest color in the crayon box, but he could still be a problem. Robin- I could kill him. Shit, I WILL kill him if he keeps acting like I broke his favorite toy and then flushed it down the toilet. I'll have to keep an eye on metal man. _

_So... A third of this team could K.O me within ten minutes. I could K.O them in five. I could leave and have a whole other set of people try to capture and/or dissect me. _Danny sighed.

"What's for dinner?"

* * *

Danny was dragged around by Starfire all over the Tower. Starfire's tour went something like this:

"This is where we train to fight the bad people!"

"This is where friend Beast Boy sleeps! Friend Beast Boy is the small green one. His room is very pungent. "

"This is where friend Cyborg sleeps! He has many strings connected to him. They are doing the filling of the battery."

"This is friend Raven's room! No, do not open the door! The last time someone went in there without the blessing of friend Raven, it was... _unpleasant."_

"Friend Robin will not let me show you where his room is. He is afraid that you will try to "shank" him. Why is that funny?"

Presently, the girl was dragging him into the living room. The broken window was patched up. If they fixed the window that quickly, w_hy was Spikey making such a big deal about it? Ugh, I_ hate_ him._

Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing a video game on the large plasma screen on the wall. "Dude, you so cheated!" Beast Boy threw down his controller angrily.

Cyborg sat back in his seat. "Calm down grass stain," he replied smugly. "It's not my fault you suck at Doom."

Danny's head snapped up."Did you say Doom?"

Beast Boy looked at his quizzically." Yeah... why? Dude, don't tell me _you_ play Doom!"

He shrugged. "I haven't had the chance to in a while." It was true. People running from the law usually didn't have the chance to play video games.

A controller was shoved into his hands. "So what? Somebody needs to put Chrome Dome here in his place!"

Against his will, Danny was shoved onto the couch next to Cyborg. "Don't worry, Frosty," the Titan said condescendingly. "I'll go easy on you.

Now, Danny had been called a lot of things. Whelp, little badger, Inviso-Bill... but nothing irritated him as much as Frosty. It was crude. It was demeaning. And it had a Christmas reference. Danny _hated_ Christmas.

He got into his gaming pose." Bring it on, WALL-E."

* * *

"Holy crap," Beast Boy whispered in awe. "No one's ever beaten Cyborg a Doom- and in _fourteen minutes_?" The changeling glomped onto Danny's arm. "Teach me everything you know!"

Cyborg was staring despondently at the controller dangling in his grasp. Cyborg of the Teen Titans _does not_ lose. There was only one logical conclusion.

Suddenly, Danny found himself thirteen inches off the ground without using his powers. "You cheated," Cyborg snarled in Danny's face.

_Did he just accuse me of cheating at a video game,_ Danny thought angrily. " It's not my fault you suck ass at Doom," he said, throwing Cyborg's taunt back in his face. Behind him, Beast Boy snickered. _Okay, Beast Boy is my favorite Titan._

Cyborg sputtered. "You little-"

"Friends!" Starfire called from the doorway. "It is time for the ordering of the pizza!"

The two male Titans looked at each other. "PIZZA!" Danny was thrown onto the couch in their haste.

Raven phased through the wall and stared at him, her face devoid of emotion. _You could stab her in the nose and she wouldn't even flinch._

"Prepare yourself," Raven said, motioning for him to follow._  
_

"For what?"

The blue clad girl gave him a cold glare. "You'll see."

She was right. About three minutes later, Danny walked into complete and utter chaos.

* * *

**And...SCENE! so, did you like it? Love it? Wanna take a blowtorch to it? Review and vote please. Fullmetal-Soul is _out!_  
**


	5. A Day with the Titans pt 2

**Hello bitchez! To make a long story short, I was stuck in the hospital for months because my dear sister spilled nail polish remover into my eyes, then I had to catch up on all my schoolwork. Damn AP classes…I've got eyes like Edward Elric now. If one more person says I have contacts… Oh, and it's come to my attention that I haven't been disclaiming all my chapters. So, here it is:**

**I do not own Danny Phantom. That kick ass cartoon belongs to the brilliant Butch Hartman. If **_**I**_** owned it, Phantom Planet would have happened in 2015(maybe not even **_**then**_**!),giving us more awesomeness, Danny and Sam would be on each other like turkey on rye, and Paulina would have been flattened by a semi (driven by me with Mars shotgun) in the first season.**

**I do not own Teen Titans. That is owned by Glen Murakami. If **_**I**_** owned it, we'd have a second movie called Mayhem in Mexico, Terra would have never existed, the Tower would be filled with green-haired, violet-eyed babies, and Robin and Starfire would be doing the exact same thing Danny and Sam would be doing. This disclaimer goes for past, present and future chapters. Now... ONWARD!**

* * *

**Last Time...**

_"Friends!" Starfire called from the doorway. "It is time for the ordering of the pizza!"_

_The two male Titans looked at each other. "PIZZA!" Danny was thrown onto the couch in their haste._

_Raven phased through the wall and stared at him, her face devoid of emotion. You could stab her in the nose and she wouldn't even flinch._

_"Prepare yourself," Raven said, motioning for him to follow._

_"For what?"_

_The blue clad girl gave him a cold glare. "You'll see."_

_She was right. About three minutes later, Danny walked into complete and utter chaos._

* * *

**Chapter Five: A Day with the Titans pt. 2**

"Please cease the screaming and the hitting, friends," Starfire pleaded uselessly to the writhing mass fighting the floor. Beast Boy was currently a giant Doberman crunching Cyborg's arm like a chew toy. Robin was trying to pull him off the metal Titan with no success whatsoever.

Raven sighed heavily. "Every other day we go through this," she said. Danny gasped.

"Was that_ annoyance_ I heard in your voice?" he said in mock surprise. "Raven the Dark shows _emotions_?"

"They refuse to come to a compromise," she continued, gesturing to her teammates struggle with each other, ultimately ignoring his earlier comment. "Even though it would be easier to agree to disagree, they draw this out. I think they enjoy this. In their pin headed minds, they believe this is amusing."

Danny was lost. "Exactly _what_ are they fighting about again?"

Beast Boy changed back to normal and jabbed a gloved finger at Cyborg. "Why do you think it's fair that something dies so you can eat its flesh smothered in fat?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Why not? It tastes good, so I eat it."

"Think of the animals!" Beast Boy screamed, flapping his hands around, too overcome to say anything else. "Think of how they feel!"

"Think of my _stomach_!" Cyborg replied. "It feels hungry, so Robin, hurry up with that pizza."

"Dude, just- AGH!" The changeling cried, pulling at his hair. "Why don't you guys ever listen to me?"

"Because when you talk, it's either about girls, mopeds, or vegetarianism," Cyborg said snidely.

"We're getting veggie, end of discussion!" Beast Boy declared, standing up and pointing his index finger to the ceiling.

Cyborg smacked him to the other side of the room, narrowly missing Starfire hovering nervously in the air. "In your dreams, grass stain. Meat lover's deluxe!"

"VEGGIE!" Beast Boy screamed, hopping up and down in a frenzy around the metal Titan in a circle. "ROBIN, ASK FOR EXTRA RED ONIONS! THEY WERE STINGY LAST TIME!"

Danny absently thought they looked like the giant trying to smash Jack. _Although I don't think Cyborg wants bones in his pizza crust._

"MEAT!"

"VEGGIE!"

Raven gestured toward them. "You see what I mean?" she sighed.

Danny wasn't listening anymore. He was lost in his head, back when his life was normal. Well, _somewhat_ normal.

* * *

Danny watched his friends have a tug-of-war over the pizza menu. It was irritating and wasted time. Time that he could be eating a greasy slice of pizza.

It was fun to watch though.

"How can you sit here actually considering eating a poor defenseless animal?" Sam cried, giving the menu a particularly hard yank. "They didn't do anything to you!"

Tucker shot the vegetarian a glare through his glasses. "It's the natural cycle of life," he said angrily." Humans were made to eat meat." The techno geek opened his mouth to show her his incisors. "These aren't here for lettuce and wheat grass, Sam."

"You need to read up on your Bible, Tucker," Sam said drily.

"We were meant to eat meat! There was an angel with a fiery sword who would skin the animals for Adam and Eve," he insisted.

Sam sighed. "Serious, Tucker, go home and read over Genesis. You sound ignorant and slightly retarded."

Tucker crossed his arms. "In my opinion, those two had the right idea. Without them, we wouldn't have Big Macs!"

"Why can't you and everyone else in this stupid town ever listen to me?"

He gave her a frigid glare from across the table. "I have three words for you- _Lunch Lady Ghost_."

Sam abruptly let go of her side of the menu. Tucker knocked his head on the side of the wall. "Do not speak the name of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" she screeched, clapping her hands over her ears. "That was one of the worst days of my life, which I would love to forget. But since that isn't possible, I'll settle for not mentioning it."

Danny rolled his eyes. "That _was_ sort of your fault, you know," he said, deciding that this was losing its humor. "I did end up cleaning up your mess. So if _anyone_ should be complaining, it's _me_."

The goth girl stuck her tongue out at him. "Jeez, Danny, I appreciate the support," she said, her voice thickly layered in sarcasm. "It warms my heart that you care so much about my feelings."

"Any time, Sam. Next time it'll cost you a dollar, though."

She smirked. "If I pay extra, what do I get?"

He leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Sam gasped and pushed him away. "Where did _that_ come from?!" she almost squeaked (she held back, though. Sam Manson _does not_ squeak), her face flushing darkly.

"So you _don't_ wa-"

"Whoever said that?"

Now it was Danny's turn to blush.

Tucker groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I think I've lost my appetite."

* * *

Someone was tugging on his glove. "Dude, are you deaf or something?"

Danny wrenched his hand away. "_Don't touch me,_" he snarled darkly.

Beast Boy stepped away and clasped his hands behind his back. "Someone needs to take a chill pill," he muttered under his breath.

Cyborg cleared his throat. "_Anyway..." _he said awkwardly, "we were asking you to be the tiebreaker."

"For what?" Raven rolled her eyes and snorted with contempt at Danny. He flipped her off when she turned her attention back to Cyborg.

"For the pizza!" Beast Boy and Cyborg yelled like it was common sense.

Danny's left eye twitched. "Why don't you just buy extra pizza?"

"Money doesn't grow on trees," Robin replied sharply.

Danny waved a hand angrily to the abundance of tech around the room. "Oh, so I guess a magical entity dropped his god load of tech smack dab in the middle of the bay and you guys dragged it in here," he said sarcastically, then rolled his eyes. "You're the _Teen Titans_ for Christ's sake. You can't be _broke_. YOU LIVE IN A TOWER! Doesn't Jump's mayor-"

"We have a governor," Beast Boy interjected. "What with the city being in danger every second of every day."

"-give you a boatload of cash whenever you save the city from turning into the next Grand Canyon?" Danny wasn't about to stop anytime soon. "This is California. Almost everyone is either loaded or broke ass motherfuckers." He gave them the up-down. "Because your kitchen is big as hell and you all don't look like you're about to pass out from hunger, I'm inclined to believe you are the former."

Danny blinked, his eye flaring from nuclear to supernova. "Is there anything else anyone wants me to tiebreak on? No? If I hear anyone so much as utter the words 'veggie' or 'meat' in the next thirty minutes besides the person placing the order, I will blow up every pizza joint in this city then pour the ashes in your breakfasts'." He gave them all one last glare before departing with a string of profanities over his shoulder.

Raven nodded to herself. She and this "Phantom" would get along nicely.

* * *

_I guess storming off into the Tower wasn't the greatest idea,_ Danny thought with a sigh. He'd barely paid attention to the kindergarten class tour Starfire had given him, so he was hopelessly lost.

"Okay," Danny murmured to himself ", I remember where Beast Boy's Room was. I could smell the petrified pizza boxes from where I was standing. If I can figure out how to get back there, there's a fifty percent chance I can retrace my steps and-"

"That's a great plan and all," a monotonous voice said from behind him, "but I think you would benefit from listening to what others are saying to you and stop yelling and cursing us every fifteen minutes."

He groaned. _I do _not_ have time for this._

"What the hell do you want?" Danny snarled, not really caring if he was being rude or not. "And what gave you the impression that I'm using you all as an outlet to let out my anger and frustration?"

Raven pulled back her indigo hood. "The pizza came and I figured you were hungry, so I searched the Tower for you."

Well, _now_ he cared if she thought he was being rude. "You didn't have to go to all that trouble."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'd rather not trip over your stiff pale corpse tomorrow because you died from starvation. Besides, rotting flesh is a hard smell to get out of carpet. The stench burrows into the fibers. Sometimes the body even leaves slime behind," she said, face stoic the entire time.

He shivered. First she spoke in a low creepy voice, now she was painting a picture of the wonders of decay. "That's nice," he replied. What could he say? This chick was one step away from sounding like the killer from Scream! "Now, I believe that you promised me artery clogging roasted cheese smothered in grease?"

"That sounds about right."She glided past him, and Danny thought he saw a smirk. "Oh, and Phantom?"

"Yeah?" He started striding to keep up with her rapid motion across the floor.

"I only said you should stop cursing so much. I never said you had an ulterior motive behind it."

Danny stopped in his tracks and face-palmed. _Great and she's perceptive, too. I do _not_ have time for this!_

Raven turned around and gazed at him with her violet eyes. "Aren't you coming?"

The halfa snapped out of his stupor. "Hell y- I mean, sure."

* * *

Cyborg was practically drooling over eleven pizza boxes when the two made their way back to the living room.

Danny glowered at Robin after seeing the abundance of food he'd ordered. "Why did you order so many boxes? Money didn't grow on trees," he said in a decent imitation of the Boy Wonder's voice.

Robin gestured to Beast Boy and Cyborg. "With the amount they eat, it'd be suicidal not to order at least an extra three of everything."

"Friend Phantom!" Starfire swooped down to the floor, landing lightly beside Robin. "Friend Raven has convinced you to join us for the consumption of the cheesy Earth delicacy, yes?" She grinned at him.

Danny didn't know what the heck she said, and he really didn't care. When he was around Starfire, he was suddenly happy and carefree like he was before the accident. He shot her a blinding smile (not missing the scowl he received from Robin in the process). "Absolutely, Star."

The alien squealed with delight and opened one of the pizza boxes with an overly excited flourish. Unfortunately for Danny, her gesture caused the smell to waft straight into his nose. The halfa bent over and covered his mouth and nose with his gloves, gagging on the stench.

"Whoa, dude, are you okay?" Beast Boy asked, tilting his head to the side. There was no way he was going to make the mistake of touching him again.

"What the _hell_ is in that box?!"

Cyborg peered over Starfire's shoulder. "A large extra pepperoni with honey smoked bacon bits, why? You allergic or something?" He reached over and grabbed half the pizza from its cardboard container.

Danny slowly stood up, mouth still covered. "The smell of cooked flesh makes me sick," he explained quietly. "I can't stand the stuff. I'm surprised I haven't thrown up yet."

Starfire looked like she was on the brink of a great discovery. "Does this mean that friend Phantom is the eater of vegetables like friend Beast Boy?"

He stood still for a moment. Danny had never thought of himself as a vegetarian. He simply shied away from all cooked meat… and practically fainted from the smell of it… and – he sighed. "I guess I am."

Once again, he found himself being glomped by Beast Boy. "Dude, this is perfect! I've got a brother in arms now!"

Danny pushed Beast Boy away with his elbow. "Would you _please_ stop latching onto me? I already told you I don't want you to touch me."  
Beast Boy started and backed away. "Um...oops?"

The silver haired teen rolled his eyes and walked over to separate stack of pizzas. He pointed at them and raised an eye at Beast Boy. When he got the okay, he lifted the top and inhaled the earthy scent. "Oh my gosh, that smells amazing!"

Robin groaned and swiped a slice Cyborg had been eying for the past three minutes. "Great, we've got another one."

Starfire had slathered her slice with some yellow sauce. She chomped into the pizza with a moan of pleasure. "This yellow tangy confection is most delightful, friend Phantom!" The redhead held out a small bowl half full of the stuff to Danny. "Would you like to partake of some?"

He didn't notice Raven's shake of her head, so he took the bowl from Starfire and spread a generous amount on his slice.

"NO!" All the Titans yelled, their hands outstretched to slap the contaminated food out of his hands. Well, Raven simply turned away while Starfire bounced up and down gleefully.

They all waited in silence while Danny chewed. He swallowed slowly and made a face.

Starfire's bouncing ceased. "You do not enjoy the tangy yellowness?" she asked, tears glistening in her eyes.

He stared straight at her. "No… I love it! Do you have any more?"

Robin's mouth hung open. "You do realize that was _mustard_, right?"

"Really? What brand do you guys sell in Jump because this is the greatest thing since the toaster strudel!"

The Tameranean produced another jar out of thin air and handed it to Danny. "This is a most glorious occasion! Not only have we come across a new friend, but he harbors my desire for the yellow elixir!"

Robin shrugged. "I wouldn't call him a friend. In my opinion, Phantom's more of a forced acquaintance I'd rather not have met in the first place."

"Hey, I could have been halfway to Vegas by now," Danny grumbled. "But your hero complex got in the way."

"You're not a hero?" Beast Boy asked with surprise.

Danny crossed his arms defensively. "Not anymore." He closed off completely and turned to face the window.

Apparently, the changeling didn't get the hint and pressed on. "Not anymore means that you were! Dude, that's awesome! Where were you at? Were you a sidekick, 'cause that's cool t-"

"Drop it."

Beast Boy halted in his seemingly endless monologue. "Huh?"

"Drop the damned subject already," Danny said quietly. The halfa stood up and stared at the ceiling. "Heroing is a pointless job. Someone is always going to end up getting hurt at the end. I'm not anymore. End of discussion. Where's my room?"

Robin looked mildly surprised at Danny's cold answer. "Uh- you can sleep on the couch. There are some blankets in here somewhere. We'll leave you alone until morning." The masked boy dragged his team out through the door.

* * *

"I knew it! SOMETHING'S SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH THAT GUY!"

Raven subtly smacked Beast Boy upside the head. "Says the green shapeshifter with pointed ears and fangs," she said drily.

"Coming from the perpetually depressed hippie, that's rich!"

Robin held up a hand to silence the two. Right now, he needed to think, and listening to Raven and Beast Boy bicker wasn't helping. "Cyborg!"

The Titan snapped to attention. "Yes?"

"I want you to find any information on a teenage hero named Phantom in Montana. Dig up videos, newspaper articles, anything. Even those fan sites. Don't dismiss anything-whatever you find, bring it to me."

"Sure thing!"

"Raven, I know you can't access his emotions, but could you try again. I can't read him at all, and you're the only one who even has a chance at getting into his head."

The empath sighed and pulled up her hood. "It won't be easy, Robin. It's like he's constantly shielding his mind from the world. Anyone who can continue that for a long period of time is quite strong and probably has multiple backups and pitfalls for anyone trying to break into their minds. It may take some time, but I'll do my best."

The Boy Wonder nodded. "That's all I wanted to hear." Raven reverted to her soul form and flew off to her room.

He turned to Starfire and Beast Boy and winced slightly when he saw the changeling lick some earwax off the pinkie finger he'd been twirling in his eardrums a moment ago. _Please don't let me regret this._

"Starfire and Beast Boy, I have a special job for you. While Raven and Cyborg are working on their parts, you two need to distract Phantom at all costs."

Beast Boy tilted his head to the side. "How do we do that? He's got eyes like a vulture!"

'The expression is 'eyes like a hawk'," Raven supplied from where she floated cross legged on the floor, an ancient tome in her hands. "If you're going to masquerade as an intelligent sentient life form do it properly."

Robin caught Beast Boy's attention before he could start screaming. "He already seems to like Starfire-"

"Are you kidding?" Cyborg looked up from the computer screen on his arm. "He's making hearty eyes at her!"

Starfire frowned slightly. "Friend Phantom's eye circles did not transform into organs when he was conversing with me."

Robin ground his teeth together. "That's not the point here. He doesn't shut down when he talks to you, Star. Beast Boy, all you have to do is keep him away from where the rest of us are."

The green Titan saluted comically. "Double 0 BB at your service!"

* * *

**There! I'm done. I've rolled out over three thousand words, so if anyone complains, they will feel my wrath. I need to take my eye medicine, swallow some antibiotics, and then inject some-random-shit-I-didn't-bother-remembering-because-I-was-high-on-Codeine into my veins. Leave this stoned author a review, a comment, anything! And the poll's coming down soon. I suggest you vote or zi'll do whatever the hell I wanna ^-^**


	6. A day with the Titans pt 3

**Chapter Six: A Day with the Titans pt. 3**

_He was shaking. No, more like shivering. Vibrating, perhaps? Either way, electrocution in his human form hurt like a bitch._

_It didn't help that they were laughing. He didn't think it was funny. You'd think that kid screaming so hard his voice box ruptured and blood started leaking out of his throat would make them sad, but _no_. They were living it up on the other side of the missile-proof glass. Documenting his every twitch and cry of pain like an author writing down a particularly good scene in their story pissed him off._

_On the outside, he was crying his eyes out. All this was internal. It was amazing how clear-headed he got on Torture Night. Or was it Day? He couldn't even bring himself to actually care at this point. It wasn't like knowing if the moon was up was going to get him out of here._

_Danny Fenton was a trooper. He'd toughed it out before. Who said he couldn't do it again?_

_Then they _had_ to turn up the voltage. _

_He thought he was shaking before? If it weren't for the thick leather restraints binding him to the operation table, he would have flown clean off._

_Someone was yelling over him. People were scrambling around behind the tinted glass like ants. Something was splitting from him, leaving… his vision started tunnel, then go white…_

* * *

"Friend Phantom, please awaken so we may bask in the glorious day marking the official start of our friendship!"

Danny woke up to seen Starfire leaning over him with Beast Boy peeking on her shoulder

"Hehe… good morning? Sorry Star shook you awake."

Danny stared at the changeling. His heart had stuttered into oblivion- or was that a dream?

"You sleep as stiff as a board, you know. I think that's bad for your neck muscles or some other crap like that." Beast Boy grinned down at him.

Oh, so it was a nightmare! He hadn't had one of those in a while. Danny sat up and stretched. "What's on the menu?" He asked the Titans absently.

Starfire giggled. "Friend beast Boy has concocted the waffles of tofu for nourishment! And I have acquired more of the tangy yellow goodness so you could consume it with the fast of break!" The alien squealed as she led him toward the kitchen. Danny blinked slowly and tried to brake down the sentence into plain and simple English.

_All I understood was 'consume' and 'tofu waffles'…I have got to learn Starfire if I ever plan on understanding what the hell is going on around here._

"Hey, where are Tall, short, and Creepy at?" Danny thought out loud as Beast Boy handed him a plate of tofu waffles.

The changeling laughed. "Raven's at the bookstore, Cyborg's at the racetrack, and Robin's doing whatever Robin does to pass the time." He waved a jar at him. "Mustard?"

"God, _yes_!" The teen snatched the jar out of his hands and started to slather it onto the stack of waffles.

Beast Boy's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Dude, how can you eat that stuff? It's, like, _mustard_!"

Danny stabbed two waffles with his fork and shoved them into his mouth. "I just suddenly gained a taste for it. You must eat something most people wouldn't eat." When he shook his head, he laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a bottomless pit-you eat everything!"

"I do not! I will never touch that stuff Starfire makes." He paused and shivered. "I suggest you don't either."

Suddenly the waffles in front of him weren't as appetizing as they were five minutes ago. Danny pushed the plate away from him. "What are we doing today?"

Starfire appeared out of nowhere and got in his personal bubble. Not that he really minded. "We shall journey to the park and consume flavorful icicles upon sticks! Then we shall go to the human recreational center and purchase wonderful attire. After that we shall return home and play the games of video."

Danny glanced at Beast Boy.

"First we go to the park and eat popsicles. Then we go to the mall. Then we go home and play video games," He translated quickly, then squinted at the halfa and frowned.

"What? Is there mustard on my face?"

He shook his head. "Dude, don't you have any other clothes besides the HAZMAT suit? We're going to the park, not a toxic waste site."

Danny shrugged. "I can change." Danny closed his eyes and concentrated. The white gloves turned grey and the tops of the fingers disappeared. The DP symbol on his chest morphed into a Coke symbol. In a matter of seconds, Danny had transformed from a specter to a normal high school teen.

Beast Boy ran over and started poking him. "How did you do that?! Your hair's red now! But why long sleeves? It's boiling outside."

"Crap. I was going for black, but it always gets stuck on red…" He sighed. "I'm still working out the kinks on the shirt." True enough; the logo on his shirt was leaning ninety degrees to the right.

Starfire tugged on his hair gleefully. "We are now identical! What a glorious occasion!"

He gave her a smirk. "I guess we are."

Beast Boy was still prodding him relentlessly. "Can you do another?"

_No one sees that side of me anymore,_ he thought darkly. On the outside, we shrugged. "This is the limit. Sorry."

Beast Boy waved him off. "Whatever. Now that you look normal, we can go."

Neon green eyes appraised Starfire's miniskirt and the green teen's spandex. "Alright."

* * *

The park was a horrible idea.

As soon as the trio walked into the area, they got mobbed. Strangely enough, the mob was mostly focused on Danny. A girl with a notepad and a pencil tucked behind her ear grabbed his arm and stared at him. She whipped the writing utensil out from behind her ear and gave a false grin.

"I'm Denise Livaditis, head reporter/editor for Strider High School." She struck a pose and wiggled her penciled in eyebrows. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Do you mind getting the fuck out of my personal bubble?"

Denise glared at him with furious grey eyes. "Look pal, there's no need for you to be rude. Just answer some quest-"

Danny held up his other hand to silence her. "Why don't you go ask those two?" He pointed at the two heroes who were signing about twelve sketchbooks and T-shirts each per minute. "They're the Titans after all."

"This is precisely my point!" The girl bellowed, flipped her chestnut hair behind her violently. She began to jab him in the chest with her pencil, punctuating the end of her sentences with a jab from the object.

"What's a regular guy like _you_ doing with two _**Titans**_? Are they testing you to see if you've got the potential to become their newest member? And do you have any," here she batted her eyes and mimed drawing a heart in the air, "_love interests_? And if so, is it Starfire or Raven? Or are you one of those heroes who date villains?"

He stared at her. "You really are a paparazzi material. Fake as fuck, breasts that look like they've been pumped full of silicon- don't make faces. Your body structure is way to thin for those to be real. I'm surprised your back hasn't fractured! Anyway, you literally latched onto me like a leach. You're a petty crappy reporter, throwing all your questions at me like that. And you said you're the _head editor_? Strider High must have real shitty news."

With every sentence that Danny uttered, Denise's face got darker. She smacked his repeatedly with her notebook and flicked him off. "I'll _ruin_ you!" Out of some random dimensional pocket the reporter produced a camera and snapped a picture. Huffing angrily, she stormed off.

Noticing that their fearless leader had retreated, the mob abandoned their prey and trailed after her.

Beast Boy trudged his way up to the halfa and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, dude. We honestly thought they wouldn't be here today. How about we try the mall?"

Danny stared at the receding back of Denise Livaditis.

_I am _so_ going to regret that later, aren't I?_

* * *

"Titans, any leads on Phantom?" Robin stared down at the screen of his communication.

Cyborg scratched his head. "It's…"

"Complicated," Raven finished for her teammate.

The Boy Wonder rubbed his eyes from under the mask. "Raven, you go first."

"Phantom's not intentionally blocking his mind. Someone is blocking it from us. Apparently, some of the things he's done or been through would cause him to have a psychotic break."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "English please?"

Raven closed her eyes. "Break the mind block and we break Phantom. Once we do it, we can't _undo_ it."

Starfire gasped. "Not even the cement of rubber will fix it?"

"We have a winner. But in this case, no prize"

Beast Boy started humming Humpty Dumpty under his breath.

Robin glared at him, and then returned his attention back to the sorceress. "Can you try to get in without snapping the block?"

Raven sighed and flipped up her hood. "I need another book," she muttered under her breathe. Her feed fizzled, and the four sections widened into three.

"Starfire, Beast Boy, how's Phantom acting?"

The fanged boy grinned. "When you aren't around, he's pretty awesome! He didn't even get mad when I tackled him earlier!" Beast Boy couldn't see the hurt behind the mask.

Starfire nodded in agreement. "Friend Phantom is most kind. He gifted an earth child with an icicle upon a stick when she dropped hers. It was most chivalrous." She giggled. "He is wonderful!"

Robin narrowed his eyes. "It could be a trick to lure us in, you know. He makes us feel like he's perfectly harmless… then he goes in for the killing blow."

"Friend Phantom would never do such I thing!" Starfire screamed into the communicator. "He is a kind person!"

Cyborg remained silent.

Best Boy nodded furiously. "Dude, the guy could have whacked us ages ago. He's pretty cool when you're not calling him an assassin and interrogating him!"

"Beast Boy, I-"

"See you later Robin. Starfire and I are going to go hang out with Phantom." The two shot daggers at him through the screen and signed off, leaving Cyborg the only one left.

"Cyborg, I'll talk to you later," the boy said dejectedly. He turned off his communicator.

The Titan started waving his hands in the air. "Yo wait up! I think you need to hear…this…" He rolled his eye and look down at the newspaper article in front of him.

"This could become a huge problem."

* * *

Danny frowned at the leather jacket Beast Boy had forced him to try on in the mirror. Starfire had shoved a purple shirt and ripped jeans at him and together the Titans had pushed him into the dressing room.

"I can't go out in this!" Danny fingered the worn holes in his pants and cringed. "I hate holes in my stuff. I look like a homeless person. Oh wait, I am a homeless person. Now I'm talking to myself. I really need to kick this habit. Only crazy people talk to themselves. Great, now I've called myself crazy _and _homeless!"

Someone knocked timidly on the door. "Friend Phantom, are the clothes not to your liking?"

"I'll be out in a second, Star!" He heard her giggle through the door.

"Ugh!" Danny beat his head softly against the wall "Now I've lied! I've condemned myself. Alright, pull it together. It's not like they're going to buy it and make you wear it or anything." He fixed the collar on the jacket and opened the door.

Starfire was trying to get Beast Boy into neon green cargo pants when she saw Danny emerge. "Friend Phantom, you look glorious!"

He tugged at the leather and made a face. "Does this come in polyester? I'll settle for cotton, too. I'd wear anything but this material, really."

Beast Boy laughed behind his glove. "I think you look awesome," he said, then proceeded to roll on the floor in front of Danny with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Thank you for the confidence boost," he sighed and tried to step on him.

The alien girl pushed him back inside with more of the offensive leather. "Please shed your current garments and don these!" She waved and slammed the door.

Danny stared at the crack slowly creeping from the hinges. _Note to self: refuse all future trips to the mall when Starfire is involved._

* * *

"This excursion was most wonderful!" Starfire declared and flung her arms up to the sky. "We must repeat this action."

Beast Boy nodded. "I don't have to carry any of the stuff anymore." He turned around and grinned at Phantom. "How's it going back there!"

Phantom gave him a withering look from under a mountain of shopping bags. "I will throw this fifteen pound bag of shoes at your balls," he called out, flashing him a smirk. A man moved farther away from him on the sidewalk.

Beast Boy trembled in mock fear. "Don't damage the merchandise," he scolded and turned back to Starfire. "He doesn't _seem_ like he wants to hurt anyone, does he?"

She shook her head. "Friend Phantom is most kind," she replied quickly.

"Yeah, Robin and the others are acting weird."

"Friend Raven seems to enjoy the presence of Friend Phantom!"

He shrugged. "She probably just doesn't care. Emos are like that, ya know."

"What is an Emo?" Before Beast Boy could explain, Phantom ran up behind them and grabbed their shoulders.

"Friend Phantom," the girl said worriedly, "what is the matter?"

He tensed and whispered, "I hope you believe in ghosts."

* * *

Robin sat alone atop a rooftop. The giant letters loomed above him, casting their shadow over his body. He stood up and gazed at the five letters silently.

The Boy Wonder laughed bitterly. "Guess I could never really step out of your shadow, could I?'' The howling wind answered him.

The communicator in his utility belt beeped and flashed red. He dug it out of its compartment and flicked the device open. "What is it Beast Boy?"

The changeling was flailing his arms around in hysteria. "Phantom's trapped, Starfire's surrounded, and I'm the only one left!"

Robin's leader senses were kicking in. He quickly linked Raven and Cyborg to the conversation. "What do mean you're the only one left? How did Phantom get trapped? How did Starfire get surrounded?"

"They're everywhere, dude. Flying around and hitting people. This is madness!"

"Actually, this is Sparta," Cyborg said. "But continue."

Beast Boy began to flail again. "He's getting closer!" Suddenly the teen's communicator screen fizzled.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST! _AND I WILL HAVE MY CUROGGATED CARDBOARD VENGEANCE_!"

* * *

Danny was getting sick and tired of the Box Ghost. In the span of nineteen hours the fourth rate villain had managed to collect enough boxes to start his reign of cubic terror. People were locking themselves inside their cars to get away from the flying projectiles.

Starfire was blasting as many as she could, but she was getting tired. Beast Boy was having a severe panic attack behind a semi, so he was completely and utterly useless. To top it all off, Danny was stuck in some sort of super charged box that could withstand his ecto blasts.

He hated to say it, but the Box Ghost was getting tough to beat.

_There goes Beast Boy, _he thought while watching him hyperventilate himself into unconsciousness. Danny tried once more to break free of his square prison, but apparently the thing was secretly made out of reinforced ghost proof titanium steel.

"Hey, Box Ghost!" Danny called out to the blue man. He turned around to face him. "So you plan on taking over the world?"

The specter's eyes lit up. "I have gotten enough material to turn this city into a cardboard utopia!" A woman ran by being chased by several iPhone containers. "Just think, a place ruled by me. I'll call it…Box City!"

"How original," Danny toned blandly. "What about the next city?"

The Box Ghost faltered. "What are you talking about?"

Danny rolled his eyes and mentally face-palmed. "You honestly only planned on taking over Jump? See, _this_ is why you're fourth rate. I can think of at least one ghost who would plan two- no three steps ahead!"

"I'll probably have some left for Gotham."

"You'll never make it to Gotham!" A voice hissed from behind Danny. He craned his head and rolled his eyes when he saw his rescuer.

"Took your sweet time getting here, didn't you Spiky?" He squinted. "And why are you standing like that? Are you trying to flash the citizens? Those tights leave _nothing_ to the imagination, Boy Blunder."

The boy took a double take. "Phantom? How did you change your hair?"

"Shouldn't you focus on the cardboard wielding maniac?"

Robin glared at him from his heroic pose from the top of the hardware store. "We're talking about this later!" He turned back to face the rampaging ghost. "As I was saying, you'll never get to Gotham." Raven and Cyborg appeared from out of the shadows. "Because we're going to take you down, here and now."

"I suggest one of go help Star." The incapacitated teen tilted his head toward the dragging alien. "She's not gonna last much longer." Robin nodded at Cyborg. The metal Titans ran off toward his teammate.

Raven floated toward him while Robin charged forward with an irritating battle cry. "Looks like you're stuck."

"Way to state the obvious hippie."

"Can't you just phase out?"

He stared at Raven and pouted. "Why are you asking me? You're the sorceress here. You know I can't. It's ghost proof!"

She pulled down her hood and studied his brown prison. "True. Let's try this." She muttered a long phrase under her breath and the box disintegrated. "I believe the correct response here is 'Thanks'."

Danny grumbled a thank you under his breath. He stood up and stared at the scene before him. Robin's powerful kicks and chops were passing through the ghost and he was starting to just swing randomly. Starfire and Cyborg were trying to wake up Beast Boy while defending the citizens.

"Amateurs." He sighed and brought out his thermos. "Can you get the Box Ghost to hold still for me?" He turned to Raven, who nodded, not even questioning the tech in his hands.

Raven floated up into the air behind the Box Ghost. "You do realize," she muttered darkly, her eyes raging with black energy, "that boxes," she raised her hands over her head, "are easy," she aimed, "TO CRUSH!"

Little black and white spears whizzed toward the quaking ghost. They went through him and stuck into the wall behind him.

The Box Ghost laughed triumphantly and danced in midair. "You're spears cannot hurt me! For I am the Box Ghost! Ruler of everything cardboard and square! _BEWARE_!"

"Like I said, boxes are easy to crush." Raven's left hand was still up in the air. She closed it into a fist and tugged.

All the boxes in the air jerked to a halt. The Box Ghost froze in his pose. Danny looked at the dark girl. _She manipulated the spiritual energy the Box Ghost was emitting and mixed with her own! It connected him and all the boxes to the wall. Maybe she's not such an amateur after all…_

Danny raised the thermos up to the spirit and smirked. "See you later, Boxy." He whipped off the cap and watched the ghost spiral into the tiny portal.

He nodded to Raven. "That was pretty smart thinking."

She shrugged and pulled up her customary hood. "Someone has to use their brains around here."

"I use my brain!" Beast Boy yelled indignantly.

Cyborg shot a ray at him. "_Now_ you decide to wake up?!"

"Dude, you'd be scared too if boxes randomly started coming to life!"

Robin stalked over to Danny and jabbed him in the chest with his staff." First you endanger he lives of the citizens-"

"Whoa, wait on fu-"

"Then you put the safety of Starfire in jeopardy-"

Beast Boy flailed in the background angrily. "Dude, I was here, too!"

"-by attracting a ghost into my city!"

"He's nuts, Spiky. He follows me wherever I go!"

Robin stopped his rant and leaned on his weapon. "Yet you helped safe my town, even though you said you quit the business. So thanks." He held out his hand.

Danny stared at it and groaned. "No problem," he ground out and shook the extended hand. "But now you own me another dinner."

The hero cracked the barest smile. "I think that can be arranged."

* * *

**There! No more a day with the Titans chapters! Now review!  
**


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